Perfetto
In Italian, perfect. I am grateful to share sketches and photos of an extraordinary week teaching Sketching the Fall Nature of Umbria with Winslow Arts Center. The weather, the setting, the accommodations and, most importantly, the workshop participants were, in a word, perfetto.
I thought I’d write a longer post to share the experience with you. Feel free to skip the details and enjoy the images if you prefer.
1. Friday- My husband Dan and I fly nine hours to Rome the day before the workshop begins, arriving at 1:30am Eastern time/6:30am in Italy. With the day stretching before us, we drop our bags at the hotel and enjoy our first cappuccino. Because we had seen the more prominent historic sites last spring, we choose to get well off the beaten path and visit the Museo Civico di Zoologia, primarily to see its 19th century ornithology collection. Alas, I am the only visitor to Rome who is sketching dead birds, but I am not disappointed—the collection is interesting and extensive. Later, we walk back through the city, catch sunset outside of the Vatican, eat dinner at a sidewalk cafe, and head to our hotel to crash.
2. Saturday- Workshop participants convene at 12:30pm at a cafe for lunch. At 2pm, we pile into a van for the 2.5-hour drive to Umbria. The first glimpse of the castle courtyard is a treat— you can’t quite believe that this is where you will spend the next week.
3. Sunday-Friday- The workshop begins in earnest and for the next week, we explore, paint, eat, learn, drink wine, and eat and paint some more. It’s delightful to be in the company of people who unapologetically geek out on art supplies and talk as passionately about brushes and paper as they do about travel, literature, or cooking. Throughout the workshop, I introduce a variety of Italian influences from art, culture, and the castle itself to infuse into our sketches.
4. We aim to capture a sense of place as well as our experiences here. The group joins me in my enthusiasm for mushrooms and pomegranates and tries their hand at sketching hawks and owls during a falconry demonstration, Chianina cattle from the castle’s farm, breakfast, maps, and more.
5. We take a midweek day trip to the medieval city of Gubbio. Narrow stone roadways, stairways, and buildings that cling to a steep hillside are the hallmarks of this city, and the views from the piazza and basilica overlooking it all are stunning. After several hours of walking and visiting historic sites, I find a gate in a stone wall that leads to a large park. Its winding shaded pathways offer respite from heat, stone, and uphill climbs, and a perfect place to sketch trees.
6. The workshop ends on Friday evening with a final show of artwork, some finished and some in progress. The diligence, talent, progress made, and aspirations of each artist are visible in the lines and paint of each journal page. What a joy to be here with such a thoughtful and talented group, to nurture their artistic journeys, and to share this special place. Thanks for coming along virtually.
Drawn In 
❤️
What a glorious week and ‘perfetto’ setting! Thank you for sharing these lovely images.
Nice to hear from you! How’s your sketching and painting going?
What a joy to relive that experience again through your work Jean. Beautiful!
Fall at the castle was beautiful, Michele. Trees full of fruit instead of buds and blossoms and the oaks were glorious. The cats are thriving, the cattle were mostly out to pasture, the sunrise views were spectacular. Missed you being along– it was a great group!
Loved the post!
Thanks much, Mark.
Thank you for sharing, Jean. Your paintings are beautiful. Love the subjects. The half bird to the right, the brushwork is captivating. The cat drinking the paint water, there’s always one in the crowd. Great fun.
Thanks Eileen- It was a very special week. There is a lifetime of good subjects to paint there. Glad you like what’s here.
Beautiful and inspiring post! I’ve always felt that I needed to “be better” to participate. Your photos are so lovely…I’m saving my pennies.
Jeannie– There are always people of all painting experience on these trips, from beginner to advanced. I work to tailor the lessons and everyone is very supportive. I hope you’ll consider coming to a future workshop!
WOW! What an inspiration!! As with every post you share, Jean!
Thanks Janet– I feel quite privileged to teach in such a beautiful and historic setting.
So much to eat, drink and paint! You have done my favorites; pomegranates, pears, and cats! We are taking the family in May 2024 and staying in Orvieto. Of course, I am bringing my paints!
Excellent Theresa! I haven’t been to Orvieto but it looks like a fascinating town. How nice to have a big trip like that to look forward to.
How wonderful to read about your trip and see your beautiful sketchbook pages. It sounds like an incredible week. I see some new influences in your work, but it’s still so “you”. And I love the new oval with your signature and date…I may have to steal that idea 😜 Thanks for sharing your work—it’s such an inspiration 🤗🤗
It was an incredible week. I was inspired by early Renaissance drawings done in sepia ink and so used that instead of black. The new oval date/signature is adapted from an 1800s herbarium stamp. I’m going to continue using it, especially for “specimen” type pages.
How wonderful to read about your trip and see your beautiful sketchbook pages! I can see some new influences in your work, but it is still so “You”. I love the new way you’re adding your signature and date—I may have to steal that idea 😜 Thanks for sharing your work. It’s such an inspiration to me. Looking forward to your next class 🤗🤗
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What a lovely travelog it does give a real feeling of the place and what a wonderful opportunity to see, draw and paint. Thanks for letting us live remotely. What a treat! I love your kitty page and all of the rest- the first one with the beautiful yellows and greens of the pears you can almost taste them!!
Thanks Georgia. I’m glad you enjoyed sharing in the trip. Cats! They’re challenging!
Thank you for sharing. What a lovely time you all had. Just beautiful.
Hi Pamela– I’m sure you recognize some of this, but fall was quite different there, too. It was wonderful to have trees full of fruit and warm weather every day.
I am completely jealous and wishing I could have come on this adventure!!! Next year for sure!!
You’d love it Aeron. Put it on your list. I won’t be teaching there in 2024, but maybe 2025.
Welcome back, Jean! I’ve been really looking forward to your post describing and illustrating the workshop in Italy. And the added narrative about your journey, jet lagged first day, and the beautiful countryside. How was a week long enough to soak it all in?
Oh my gosh, gorgeous! Gorgeous art (I love everything you create, Jean!), gorgeous accommodations, gorgeous scenery! Every journal page is a feast for the eyes, for inspirstion and the imagination, right down to the sketches of the lifeless birds! I’ve spent the last 2 days soaking in all of the details, studying your compositions, your lettering, embellishments, sketching and painting techniques, and how your choice of quotes added so much to each illustration. What fortunate students to have such a skilled and enthusiastic instructor. Thank you so much for sharing, Jean! I feel reinvigorated!
Glad you enjoyed the greater details Barb. There’s so much more I could say about each piece and the elements that went into them. But I realized that I forgot to post one page, so I’ll do that later this week and add a bit more insight into some the artwork. Stay tuned.
Staying tuned on all frequencies! Enjoy your week.
What a treat! Jean, you are amazing and your work is so inspiring as well. It is utterly beautiful, often in a simplicity that belies the excellence in composition, quotes, lettering, and accurate depiction of the stunning beauty in nature.
You have sold me on the idea of doing a similar workshop with you! That’s my goal for the next year or two, whenever, or wherever you decide to go in Europe.
I didn’t realize my name wasn’t posted. It’s Peggy Haug – Burchfield’s granddaughter
I have not been to the Burchfield Penny Art Center but it’s on my list. What a legacy you are related to.
That would be wonderful. I am not planning on a European trip in 2024, but I’m hoping for fall 2025. Going to Castello di Petroia in Umbria is as spectacular as it looks. In the meantime, watch for workshops online and in the U.S. and keep connected here.
I asked how the workshop went in an email – and here’s the answer. Not only the trip, but the answer itself is perfetto! What fun to see The Planthunter quoted in the first sketch. Those pears are so plump! I like the undersides of the leaves and the pale wash of blue, too. The small oval signs on each page recall other times and give the pages even more individuality. The transition from sepia to the soft green of the olives is beautiful – and the cats! 🙂 I think the tree from the park in Gubbio illustrates the enthusiasm that Cenneni hoped art students would feel centuries ago. The branches seem to be racing into the sky. It looks like a challenging tree to paint but it gave you no trouble. I like seeing everyone working, too – even in the barn! I’m glad it went so well. 🙂
Jean, your drawings and photos of your time in Italy are so evocative and lovely. I so wish I could have gone on that trip — maybe next time!
It would be great to have you along Beth! Glad you liked the sketches here.
Thank you for sharing your travel experience in Italy. As a cat owner, I loved the cat page. You are such an inspiration, Jean. I’m in the process of downsizing and moving, but, once I’m settled, I look forward to taking another one of your classes.
Good luck with your move, Peggy. What a challenging task. Hope it goes well and you are back to painting soon.
Your narrative paints a vivid picture that’s complementary to your paintings. I love the photo of you with the hawk.
Thanks Beverly– Being so close to that hawk was a very special moment.